Over the course of the last three seasons, the Gettysburg College men's golf team has enjoyed a tremendous amount of success. The play on the course has been strong and steady, but it's the work off the greens that has helped raise the bar for the program, and some of that progression is due to the work done by junior Matthew Kalamar (Bethlehem, Pa./Allentown Central).
 
Kalamar has played a key role in the physical and nutritional development of the golf team over the course of the last three years. Since high school, he has worked at a local gym in his hometown of Bethlehem, Pa., called KSP Fitness. He's taken the knowledge gained there and through additional classes to help his teammates get stronger physically and improve their nutritional habits.  
 
"For some of the guys, when they first came here they didn't have a lot of background doing consistent work outs," said Kalamar. "So for the past two years, I have been trying to teach them the basics. I also put a good amount of emphasis on the techniques of lifting properly, especially focusing on form and breathing that will help the guys not only in the gym, but on the course as well."
 
Early on, Kalamar had his teammates focusing on rotational exercises for the lower body and core, key areas of power and explosiveness in a golf swing. Last year, the junior introduced more weight-based lifting with barbells. The golf team also utilizes the strength and conditioning program used by all Bullets varsity athletic teams, Volt. Kalamar has been able to build on that program and introduce a dynamic warm-up to make sure his teammates are ready for the exercises.
 
"I feel like for some of the guys, they have really taken on the lifestyle of trying to be healthier and even workout more outside of our team workouts," noted Kalamar. "Some of our guys who have had some past injuries have really made big steps in stretching more especially before and after our golf rounds. Other big improvements have been the guys hitting the ball farther as well. That type of increase in distance really helped our guys play the courses better."
 
Gettysburg thrived on the course during Kalamar's first two seasons. In 2018-19, the team set program records for tournament wins (9) and season scoring average (303.4), while capturing its first Centennial Conference title in 17 years. The team also appeared at the NCAA Division III Championship for the first time in nearly two decades.
 
Despite the graduation of a star-studded senior class in 2019, the Bullets were nearly as good in the pandemic-shortened 2019-20 campaign. Through 10 rounds of competition, the team was averaging 305.7 strokes per round, just shy of the program record set the year before. The team also won two tournament titles, while six players averaged career lows in scoring average.
 
This year, the golf team stayed busy with workouts three times per week in the offseason on top of work in the TrackMan Golf simulator and intermittent trips to the course when weather and safety protocols permitted. According to Kalamar, the extra time focusing on health and nutrition has the team feeling better than ever as they officially defend their conference crown this spring.
 
"Matt Kalamar has really done a great job for us in taking over that fitness program this year," said Head Coach Nate Davis. "He's done a great job of helping lead those programs for us. It's been neat to see the team take that on and own it."
 
Kalamar has averaged 78.3 strokes through his nine rounds of collegiate competition and scored a pair of top-five finishes as a sophomore. A mathematical economics major, he has enjoyed his academic experience and the addition of training gives him even more options to choose from has he looks to the future.
 
"I am honestly loving all classes I am taking right now and definitely have an interest in the economics field," said the junior. "Training is another aspect that I really love so I don't really know what my future career plans are. If one opportunity opens up for me in either field at the right time, that could be the push, whether it is training or economics."